Method of cleaning and disinfecting fibrous material



, cidal properties.

Patented Mar. 10, 1942 METHOD OF CLEANING AND DISINFECTING FIBBOUS MATERIAL Irving E. Muskat, Akron, and Albert G. Chenicek,

Barberton,

Ohio, assignors to Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company, Allegheny County, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania No Drawing.

Claims.

This invention relates to sterile, fibrous products having antiseptic properties and to methods of producing such products.

In accordance with our invention, we have discovered that antiseptic fibrous products containing active chlorine may be secured by introduction of solid organic N-chloro compounds par- Application September 3, 1938, Serial No. 228,394

form a sheet. In general, the impregnation may be accomplished by forming a suitable solution ticularly those derived from the chlorination of melamine, ammeline, ammelide or other cyanuric acid amide or imide into the interstices of the fibrous base. The products so produced are stable with regard to their active chlorine content, and are found to have antiseptic and bacteri- These properties are retained by the articles even after the chlorine in the material has been removed.

Various organicN-chloro compounds, such as chloramine-T, dichloroamine-T, N-chloro succinimide, N-dichloro azodicarbonamidine, chlorinated melamine, chlorinated ammeline or chlorinated ammelide, etc., may be incorporated for this purpose. Of particular interest for use in this connection are the products derived from the chlorination of cyanuric acid amides or imides, such as chlorinated melamine, etc., which have been described in our copending'applications S. Serial No. 179,956, filed December 15, 1937, and U. S. Serial No. 215,870, filed June 25, 1938.

Various types of fabricated articles may be so impregnated and we have found that bandages, paper. or cloth handkerchiefs or towels, sheets, surgical uniforms, cotton batting, etc., may be kept in their initial sterile condition for many months if impregnated'with these N-rchloro-derivatives. with the present invention are found to be of particular interest since they are not only sterile but retain antiseptic characteristics which permil; efiective disinfection of a wound to which the bandage may be applied. Since the solid N- chloro compounds are generally free of undesirable alkaline and acid constituents, exposure of an open wound .to cloth impregnated with such compositions does not result in undesirable inflammation as may be the case when other compounds containing active chlorine are applied.

The articles may be impregnated previous to, during or after fabrication of the article. Thus, woven fabrics may be impregnated or the strands thereof may be impregnated prior to weaving. Similarly, a felted base such as a paper sheet may be treated after its manufacture, or during its manufacture and prior to calendaring, or the fibers may be pretreated in a suitable manner Bandages produced in accordance or dispersion of the N-chloro compound, permeating the pores of the fibrous base with the solution or dispersion and drying the treated product. It has been found that products of greater stability have been obtained by soaking the fibrous material in the solution for a substantial period of time, for example, 10 minutes or more. If desired, the solid N-chloro compound may be sprayed or otherwise deposited upon the fibers in the dry state.

In. selecting a suitable solvent or dispersing medium, some difficulty is encountered since it is preferred that the solvent have a boiling point low enough to permit its evaporation from the such as in a slurry and subsequently felted to 5 fiber. In addition, it is found that certain solvents react with the N-chloro compound to an undesirable degree and tend to reduce the stability of the compound. In some cases, aqueous slurries or solutions of chloramine-T, chlorinated melamine, etc., have been used with some success. However, the solubility of many N-chloro compounds in water is somewhat limited and in some cases aqueous solutions tend to react with the fiber to an undesirable degree or to produce products which are relatively unstable as to active chlorine content. Thus, while water may be used as a solvent, We prefer to make use of the low boiling point aliphatic chlorides such as carbon tetrachloride, chloroform, trichloroethylene, etc. Preferably, a solvent is used which has aboiling point which does not substantially exceed C.

These solvents are among those which are commonly used in the dry cleaning industry and, if desired, clothing or other fibrous products may be impregnated witha solid N-chloro compound during or in conjunction with a dry cleaning operation using carbontetrachloride, trlchloroethylene, chloroform, or similar solvent. It is found that articles so treated are not only sterile but appear to have insect repellent characteristics which serve to protect the fabric from moths and other insects.

The concentration of the solution is capable of considerable variation so long as the active chlorine content is not sufliciently high to appreciably attack the fabric. In general, it is desired to make use of solutions of such strength that the active chlorine content of the fibrous base ranges from about 0.01 percent up to about 4 percent by weight. Solutions having a concentration of 05-20 percent active chlorine have been found to be suitable for this purpose.

When aliphatic chlorides are used as solvents, it is preferred to make use of those N-chloro compounds which are most soluble. We have found that the compound of the chlorinated melamine type containing high concentrations of active chloride, for example, in excess of 85 percent are more soluble in these organic solventsthan those of lower active chlorine content. Thus, it is found desirable to make use of the chlorinated cyanuric acid amide compositions corresponding to the tri-, tetraor penta-chloromelamine or the corresponding ammeline or ammelide compounds of equivalent chlorine content. The articles secured in this manner are stable as to active chlorine content over a period of many months.

ams per liter of active chlorine. Bandagei mfaterial was impregnated with this solution and after'drying the bandage contained 0.49 percent of active chlorine. 4

t In some cases, it may be found that over a long period of time the chlorine has a deleterious effect upon the'texture, or strength of the fibrous base. Accordingly, it may be desirable to utilize relatively unstable N-chloro derivatives such as chlorinated urea, or N-chloroacetaniide, or to. remove all or some portion of the chlorine by suitable methods such as by extended heating for a suitable period of time. Excess concentrations of chlorine may also be removed in this manner.

Although the present invention has been described in connection with the specific details of certain embodiments thereof, it is not intended that such details shall be regarded as limitatended to include both true or colloidal solutions I By the term dispersion in the claims, it is in as well as slurries of the N-chloro compounds.

We claim:

1. Inthe process of dry cleaning the step which comprises contacting a fibrous article undergoing cleaning treatment with a dispersion. of a solid N-chloro organic compound in a liquid aliphatic chloride of low boiling point to clean the fibrous material and to impregnate the article with the dispersion of N-chloro compound and expelling the solvent from the impregnated article to pro- 2. In the process of dry cleaning, the step which comprises contacting a fibrous material The following examples illustrate the invenused in Example I was prepared containtions upon the scope of the invention except undergoing cleaning treatment with a chlorinated compound of the group consisting of the amides or imides of cyanuric acid dispersed in an aliphatic chloride of low boiling point to clean the fibrous material and to impregnate the article with the dispersion of N-chloro compound and expelling the solvent from the impregnated material to produce a cleaned product containing a chloride of low boiling point to clean the fibrous material and to impregnate the article with the dispersion of N-chloro compound and expelling e the solvent from the impregnated material to produce a cleaned fibrous material containing a quantity of said chlorinated melamine in the interstices thereof.

4. The process of claim 1 wherein a solution of N-chloro compound in carbon tetrachloride is used as the cleaning process.

5. A method of cleaning and disinfecting fibrous material requiring cleaning treatment which comprises subjecting the material to the action of a liquid aliphatic chloride having a solid'N- chloro organic compound of the group consisting of the amides and imides of cyanuric acid dispers'ed therein for a time sufiicient to clean the material, and to permeate the pores of the fibrous material with the dispersion of N-chloro compound in the solvent and removing the solvent IRVING E. MUSKAT. ALBERT G. CHENICEK. 

